U.S. companies assisting China in Olympic security, raising questions

In preparation for the Beijing Olympics and a series of other international events, some American companies are helping the Chinese government design and install one of the most comprehensive high-tech public surveillance systems in the world.

When told of the companies' transactions, critics of China's human-rights record said the work violated the spirit of a sanctions law Congress passed after the Tiananmen Square killings.

The Commerce Department, however, says the sophisticated systems being installed, by companies like Honeywell, General Electric, United Technologies and IBM, do not run afoul of the ban on providing China with "crime control or detection instruments or equipment." But the department has just opened a 45-day review of its policies on the sale of crime-control gear to China.

Long after the visitors leave, security industry experts say, the surveillance equipment that Western companies leave behind will provide the authorities here with new tools to track not only criminals, but dissidents, too.

* The governing body of men's tennis confirmed that Italians Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali bet on tennis matches, and the players had no excuse for not knowing this was a rules violation.

The ATP said it began investigating in August and found that Starace wagered on matches in 2006 from Feb. 21 to May 23. Bracciali's bets were from May 17, 2004 through Jan. 24, 2005.

Starace made five bets totaling $130 and Bracciali made about 50 bets of $7, the Italian tennis federation said. The federation said both players bet on matches involving others and were unaware the wagers violated ATP regulations.

* Evonne Goolagong finally made it to No. 1, although the honor was 30 years late in coming. The Australian tennis star was told by the WTA Tour that she should have been top-ranked for a 2-week period in 1976. That was a stretch in which she was in the middle of winning six tournaments, including the Australian Open and the season-ending Virginia Slims Championship.

But when some tournament records were transferred to a computer in 1976, all of Goolagong's points were not entered and she never received the top ranking, the WTA said.

* Kyle Turris scored a pair of power-play goals to give Canada a 2-0 victory over Slovakia yesterday, its second victory in as many days at the Under-20 World Ice Hockey Championship in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

The win strengthened Canada's place atop Group A with six points. The host Czech Republic rebounded from Wednesday's opening-day loss to the Canadians to beat Denmark, 5-2, and pull even with Sweden in second place with three points.

Elsewhere, Russia outlasted Kazakhstan, 5-4, to climb into first place in Group B, while Finland beat Switzerland, 4-3. *